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Meeting the halal standard

Source:Food Bev Asia Release Date:2017-03-16 821
Food & Beverage
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VINCENT LAU* writes on how today’s analytical tools ensure halal authenticity

WHAT was once considered a niche segment of the food and beverage industry is now an emerging market force with great potential. The halal food market is set to continue growing, as increasing new and existing players try to grab a piece of the pie.

Halal food is consumed predominantly by Muslims. The world’s Muslim population is expected to form about 27% of the population. The global halal economy is valued at $1.4 trillion and is expected to grow with global halal exports standing at nearly US$10 billion in 2015.

Per a report by Washington-based Pew Research Centre, The Future of World Religions: Population Growth Projections, Asia Pacific will represent the largest demographic of Muslims. By 2050, there may be almost 1.5 billion Muslims, making Muslims the single largest religious group in this region.

With the current pace of growth, the global halal market consumption can only be expected to climb. The consumer-supplier network is driven by values and trust, but with information being readily available now online, the Muslim consumer is more informed. Although there are very few reported halal scandals in Asia, the most recent halal scare involving a well-known chocolate manufacturer left some consumers with lingering doubt despite the chocolates being later confirmed as halal.

What is halal food? 

Halal is the Arabic word for ‘permissible’ or ‘lawful.’ Halal when used in context of food, refers to food that is permissible according to Islamic law and has to be unadulterated and contamination-free. Within the scope of strict scrutiny is any consumable that contains or is contaminated with pork, or any by-products that are porcine sourced, such as gelatin and emulsifiers. Alcohol or any forms of intoxicants that can impair judgement are also considered haram, or forbidden. 

Toyyibaan, an integral part of halal, depicts wholesome food that is safe, hygienic and nutritious. This ensures that food is healthy, thus free from pesticides, veterinary drugs, biotoxins and other illicit additives.

Part of the halal certification process, by regulatory agencies involve on-site inspections to ensure the slaughter of raw materials from a halal source, transportation, logistics, value chain, shelving and delivery of the food source are compliant with Islamic law.

While there isn’t a global standard for halal, countries that are predominantly Muslim, like Malaysia and Indonesia, have regulatory bodies that govern the halal food market, such as JAKIM in Malaysia and MUI in Indonesia. Due to their religious beliefs, Muslims are restricted in terms of the kinds of food they consume.

Certain countries have passed legislation to ensure that food imports arriving in the country meets halal standards. In Malaysia, imports of meat and poultry are regulated through licensing and sanitary controls. All imported products must originate from facilities that have been approved by Malaysian authorities as “halal”.

Other countries with Muslim populations such as Singapore rely on certification from their national regulatory bodies, MUIS, to ensure that food meets the halal standard. Certification is still seen as an effective method when reaching out to the Muslim population because Muslims trust the legitimacy of the halal label issued by local certification bodies.

While most halal foods are certified with the halal logo, food scares like the Malaysia chocolate case and UK’s mislabelled halal black pudding which contained traces of pig’s blood and skin, cause consumers to become more cautious when purchasing food.

Vincent Lau of SCIEX

“The use of analytical tools to complement on-site inspection creates a more holistic approach to regulating halal, from farm to fork”

Vincent Lau, Market Development Manager, South East Asia, SCIEX

Halal certification

Certification is also often regarded as an additional safety measure. With increasing globalization and a better awareness of where lapses might occur, such as the packaging and transportation phase of the food cycle, some countries have made it compulsory for regulated certification for imports.

To ensure the quality and the safety of halal food products, food manufacturers can work alongside laboratories with analytical tools to remove any doubt of whether the food source contains any substance that is haram.

While analytical testing has come a long way, onsite inspections are still required to ensure that Islamic law is still being abided to in the slaughtering, logistics, transportation and delivery phase of the food cycle. These two functions work hand in glove to ensure the quality and safety of their halal products.

The Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) testing has been one of the popular choices to provide objective analysis for to porcine contamination. However, ELISA tends to result in false positives and faces restrictions in multiplexing. Techniques relying on detection of genetic material namely Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) meets limitations in highly-processed meat products where DNA is destroyed by high heat.

Analytical testing

With the growing Muslim population, there is a demand for powerful and rapid analytical methods that can detect very low concentrations of forbidden elements in food. This opens up opportunities for food testing laboratories to work with food manufacturers and halal regulation authorities to help ensure that the products are truly halal.

Solution providers like SCIEX, provide reliable and accurate laboratory-based methods and solutions for detecting forbidden contaminants in foods, such as the QTRAP LC-MS/MS (liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry detection) is deemed as the gold standard for analytical testing of food, because of its unparalleled sensitivity and selectivity.

More specifically, the system can distinguish between porcine gelatin from other gelatin sources. In raw or process meat samples, pork can be decisively detected if present. In addition, beef, chicken, horse, mutton markers are also included as part of the screening assay as validation. This eliminates any guesswork from ensuring the authenticity of a meat patty. The QTRAP LC-MS/MS hybrid technology provides additional peptide sequence information that allows the scientist to confirm with confidence, the presence of porcine adulterants, in addition to just detection.

There is very little room for mistakes as it can take a heavy toll on the consumers trust levels. The overarching merits of mass spec systems for food testing are their capabilities to find targeted chemical contaminants with very high specificity. Mass spectrometry also has the added ability to survey food samples for unknown chemical compounds like pesticides, veterinary drugs. Harmonization of these methods in laboratories across geography is also a dream.

While the industry yearns for a benchmark, equipping all manufacturers with this tool is a herculean task due to financial constraints as these analytical tools are costly.

Halal confirmed

The growing halal food market and consumers being more educated on what halal food is has caused food manufacturers to reassure consumers on the quality and authenticity of their halal food.

Analytical testing provides an independent yet definitive answer, leaving no space for doubt, as to whether the food is halal or not. LC-MS/MS is superior to other testing methods as it has far less false data as compared to halal test kits and ELISA testing, providing Muslim and non-Muslim consumers with the ease of mind.

The use of analytical tools to complement on-site inspection creates a more holistic approach to regulating halal, from farm to fork. The process monitoring governs the value chain, the analytical data confirms the results as both approaches are complementary. Halal extends beyond the provision of safe and quality products, it is a way of life that should be respected and embraced.

*Vincent Lau graduated from the National University of Singapore, School of Medicine Pre-clinical in 2010 with a Masters of Science, with five years of research, training and facilitation experience in molecular biology and proteomics-driven research.

References

More trying to take a bite of the halal food market. http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/more-trying-to-take-a/2671180.html

New global hub to help scale up halal food exports

http://www.iesingapore.gov.sg/Venture-Overseas/Browse-By-Market/Asia-Pacific/South-Korea/News/mc/News/2016/10/New-global-hub-to-help-scale-up-halal-food-exports

APFI. (2014, June 3). Asia Pacific Food Industry - Halal: The Label Of Trust. Retrieved November 22, 2016, from http://www.apfoodonline.com/index.php/features/item/333-halal-the-label-of-trust

Wormald, B. (2015, April 02). The Future of World Religions: Population Growth Projections, 2010-2050. Retrieved November 23, 2016, from http://www.pewforum.org/2015/04/02/religious-projections-2010-2050/

Export.gov. (2014, April 7). Malaysia Trade Barriers, Regulations, and Standards. Retrieved November 23, 2016, from http://2016.export.gov/malaysia/doingbusinessinmalaysia/eg_my_072633.asp

Genetic ID. (2015). Halal – Growing market, with unique opportunities and challenges. Retrieved November 23, 2016, from http://www.genetic-id.de/en/services/halal

Malay Mail Online. (2014, June 03). We'll eat Cadbury to prove it’s halal, Jakim officer says. Retrieved November 22, 2016, from http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/well-eat-cadbury-to-prove-its-halal-jakim-officer-says

Mohd Yunus, A. B. (2010, December 03). The Concept of Halalan Tayyiba and Its Application in Products Marketing : A Case Study at Sabasun HyperRuncit Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia. Retrieved November 23, 2016, from http://ijbssnet.com/journals/Vol._1_No._3_December_2010/24.pdf

Muhammad, R. (2015, January 16). The Global Halal Market – Stats & Trends. Retrieved November 23, 2016, from http://halalfocus.net/the-global-halal-market-stats-trends/

MUIS. (2011). Halal Certification Terms & Conditions. Retrieved November 22, 2016, from http://www.ebooks-gratuits.me/recherche/Restaurant::Halal/pdf/1

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